Zanesville firefighter attended the Oilfield Emergency Response Training Program
WAYNE COUNTY, Ohio – A recent two-day training provided Ohio firefighters with best the practices and tactics for managing oil field and natural gas events. The 2018 Ohio Firefighter Academies, also known as the Oilfield Emergency Response Training Program, are provided free by the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP) to help Ohio firefighters keep communities safe and connect them to an energy industry that is important to Ohio.
Dylan Beatty, Tacy Brown and Zachary Garber from Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department; and Dakota Knicely from Zanesville Fire Department
joined peers from across Ohio for classroom presentations, activities and “hands-on fire behavior labs” that offered insight into how oil and gas is explored, drilled and produced, and the importance of establishing a unified command in the event of an emergency.
“In 18 years, we have trained more than 1,500 firefighters from Ohio and seven other states,” said Rhonda Reda, OOGEEP Executive Director. “Our pioneering training program utilizes state-certified instructors and our curriculum brings together Ohio’s oil and gas industry, government regulators, firefighters and emergency response experts. Firefighters across the country look at our Firefighters Academies as a model training program.”
The United States Fire Administration notes there are currently 1,167 registered fire departments in the Ohio, of which 61 percent are staffed by volunteer personnel. Through the generosity of Ohio’s oil and gas producers, there is no cost for firefighters to attend the class.
In addition to the education and hands-on training, attendees received a certificate of attendance, field guide, spill response kit, Class B Foam and other materials that can be utilized by their departments. Participants also received documentation for up to 12 CEU contact credit hours.
More information about the Ohio Firefighter Academies can be found at https://www.oogeep.org/firefighters/.
